New HPV Test More Effective than Pap Smear in Detection of Cervical Cancer

A new DNA test that looks for the human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to detect precancerous lesions earlier than the traditional Pap smear, which could be more effective in the prevention of cervical cancer than having routine Pap smears alone. The findings come from a five-year study conducted by researchers from VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam. Details of the analysis appear in The Lancet Oncology.

While most cases of the sexually transmitted HPV virus contracted by females are temporary, and are cleared by the immune system, persistent infection with particular strains of the virus can lead to the development of cervical cancer. In fact, HPV infection is known to cause nearly all cases of cervical cancer.

High-risk strains of HPV have been the focus of much research in recent years, and tests for these strains have been developed by such companies such as Roche and Qiagen. However, the new study is the first to show that the DNA test for HPV is more effective than undergoing routine Pap smears alone.

For their study, the Dutch researchers conducted two rounds of screening spaced five years apart on 45,000 women aged 29 to 56. For the first round of screening, the women were randomly assigned to receive either HPV testing in addition to the Pap smear test, or to receive the smear test alone. However, in the second screening round five years later, both HPV and Pap smear testing were done on all of the women.

Their findings revealed that the addition of an HPV test to a Pap smear screening program led to earlier detection of pre-cancerous lesions, and also prevented the devlopment of more cervical cancers than a screening program including a Pap smear test alone. The findings of the analysis also showed that a negative result of an HPV test was more accurate than a negative Pap smear result.

According to study researcher Chris Meijer, “If you are negative, then it’s a real negative.” A lower rate of false positive results could help to prevent women from undergoing unnecessary and uncomfortable treatments.

The results of the study confirm several previous studies that have found HPV testing to be more sensitive than the Pap smear test in regards to detecting precancerous cell changes.

Regarding the results of the study, Hormuzd Katki and Nicolas Wentzensen of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda noted that the results “reinforce findings from cohort studies, clinical trials, and routine clinical practice by providing overwhelming evidence of the benefits of inclusion of HPV testing in screening programs.”